> Figures released earlier this month showed out of 2987 people to apply for compensation, only 59 were successful
Even if 100% of these were successful this would still mean the vaccines were complication free for the vast, vast majority of people. Even if you assume the complexity of the process meant that 1 in 10 people who thought they had an adverse reaction were put off applying, it'd be something like 0.1% of cases having adverse reactions.
Of course I'd tend to trust medical professionals figuring out if a payout was relevant a little bit more than the applicants or 'legal experts' that are complaining about the complex process.
(Anecdata: I know of one person in my entire network who had an adverse reaction (outside of cold/flu symptoms) - bursitis in his elbow - from a COVID vaccinte. I personally only ever got a mild headache from the first one & nothing more from the others I've had.)
> I think it’s reasonable to say these risks were not adequately communicated to the public.
As with pretty much every vaccination for all time, the vanishingly tiny risks are massively outweighed by the benefits.
But yes, the risks should be communicated. Maybe they are not in some areas? I feel like most times when I get a vaccination, I am reminded of the potential risks. Here they always make you wait 15 minutes after the shot for observation just in case there are any immediate adverse affects (this is in Australia).
Here, for the first two COVID shots (at least) there was a reasonably intense screening process which ran through things like heart issues, etc.
Even if 100% of these were successful this would still mean the vaccines were complication free for the vast, vast majority of people. Even if you assume the complexity of the process meant that 1 in 10 people who thought they had an adverse reaction were put off applying, it'd be something like 0.1% of cases having adverse reactions.
Of course I'd tend to trust medical professionals figuring out if a payout was relevant a little bit more than the applicants or 'legal experts' that are complaining about the complex process.
(Anecdata: I know of one person in my entire network who had an adverse reaction (outside of cold/flu symptoms) - bursitis in his elbow - from a COVID vaccinte. I personally only ever got a mild headache from the first one & nothing more from the others I've had.)